EFFECT OF THE MIND DIET INTERVENTION ON COGNITION IN OLDER ADULTS WITH CLASS 2 AND 3 OBESITY

Q: What question does the study address about the MIND diet?

Whether the effect of the MIND diet intervention on cognition differs across participants with different baseline BMI at enrollment.

Q: How was cognitive change measured in this study?

Global cognition change was assessed annually using a score derived from a battery of 12 neurocognitive tests.

Q: What did the study find for participants with BMI greater than 35?

Among individuals with BMI>35 kg/m2, the MIND diet group showed a slower rate of decline in global cognition compared with the control diet group.

Sep 29, 2026

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Obesity prevalence in the United States makes weight-loss–promoting dietary interventions a major public health priority. Data from the MIND diet trial showed meaningful weight loss and cognitive improvement over 3 years. This analysis tests whether the MIND diet’s cognitive effects vary by baseline BMI. Using a linear mixed-effect model and annual change in global cognition from 12 neurocognitive tests, participants (N=604) average 70.4 years old. A significant intervention-by-BMI-by-time interaction indicates slower global cognitive decline with MIND among BMI>35. Future research should clarify mechanisms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Intervention and rationale

Study design and participants

Cognitive outcomes and analysis

BMI interaction results

Implications and future work

Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 631 SESSION 4570 (PAPER) INNOVATIONS IN COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND AWARENESS: EXPLORING TOOLS, CONTEXTS, AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Abstract citation ID: igaf122.2160 EFFECT OF THE MIND DIET INTERVENTION ON COGNITION IN OLDER ADULTS WITH CLASS 2 AND 3 OBESITY Shannon Halloway1, Lisa Barnes2, Neelum Aggarwal2, Konstantinos Arfanakis2, Frank Sacks3, and Klodian Dhana2, 1. University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 2. Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 3. Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States With increasing prevalence of obesity in the United States, dietary interventions that promote weight loss have high public health significance. In the recently completed clinical trial (i.e., MIND diet trial), both the MIND diet intervention and control diet groups received mild caloric restriction and showed clinically 632 Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 significant weight loss and improved cognition over 3 years. In the current study, we examined whether the effect of the MIND diet intervention on cognition differs across people with different body mass index (BMI) at enrollment. The MIND trial enrolled older adults without cognitive impairment but with a family history of dementia, BMI>25, and a suboptimal diet. A linear mixed-effect model was used to examine if BMI modified the effect of MIND on cognition, specifically annual change in a global cognition score derived from a battery of 12 neurocognitive tests. Participants (N = 604) were, on average, 70.4 years old, 65.5% female, and with a BMI of 33.9 kg/m2 at baseline. In a multivariable-adjusted model, there was a significant interaction between intervention x BMI x time (p= .011); as such, among individuals with BMI>35 kg/m2 (n = 213), those within the MIND diet group showed a slower rate of decline in global cognition by 0.040 (SE = 0.017, p=.018) standardized units per year when compared to people in the control diet group. In people with BMI< 35, there were no differences between the MIND diet and the control group in global cognition. Future work should examine underlying mechanisms that explain the cognitive benefits of the MIND diet among people with obesity.

FAQs

What question does the study address about the MIND diet?

Whether the effect of the MIND diet intervention on cognition differs across participants with different baseline BMI at enrollment.

How was cognitive change measured in this study?

Global cognition change was assessed annually using a score derived from a battery of 12 neurocognitive tests.

What did the study find for participants with BMI greater than 35?

Among individuals with BMI>35 kg/m2, the MIND diet group showed a slower rate of decline in global cognition compared with the control diet group.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Asher